[Source: Global Sports Week] A unique global-local event concept saw speakers gather in venues across four continents, with the action linked live to a central base at the heart of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 20,000 people from 153 countries visited the immersive digital platform, where they were able to participate virtually in more than 100 sessions.

With themes including the rise of athlete activism; the new sport-for-health agenda; the emergence of new digital sports formats and revenue streams; women’s sport; social justice; and the climate emergency, Global Sports Week demonstrated the massive on-going transformation happening across the world of sport.

Over 200 speakers made an appearance across six future host cities of the Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Olympic Games – Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Milan, Dakar and Los Angeles.

The main GSWArena stage incorporated broadcasts from hub venues at the French Institute Tokyo, the Embassy of France in Beijing and the Museum of Black Civilisations in Dakar, as well as from ‘virtual hubs’ in Milan and Los Angeles. Each of the international lives opened with a message from the Mayors Anne Hidalgo (Paris), Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles), Soham El Wardini (Dakar), and Giuseppe Sala (Milan), Vice Mayor of Beijing Zhang Jiandong and Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike, who each presented their vision for sport and the Games in the future of their cities.

As in 2020, the voice of the next generation was represented throughout the week by a group of 34 Young Sports Makers, under-25s drawn from 16 nations, who were tasked with challenging leaders and helping to shape discussions in line with their concerns.

Global Sports Week 2021 was also the stage for a number of significant announcements. These included:

> The launch of two new toolkits by Global Sports Week patron UNESCO, unveiled by Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences Gabriela Ramos, and designed respectively to empower young people to influence physical education policy; and to support policy makers in implementing the change in national systems.

> The unveiling by Paris 2024 and AFD (L’Agence Française de Développement) of a new joint incubator and the 26 athlete-entrepreneurs who will receive support to champion high-impact social and environmental projects in France and across 10 countries in Africa. The project was presented at the Eiffel Tower by Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of the AFD, and Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, marking the one-year anniversary of their agreement, signed at Global Sports Week in 2020.

> The launch by Global Sports Week’s Founding Partner and the first Paris 2024 Premium Partner Groupe BPCE of its annual analysis of the French sports economy. BPCE L'Observatoire estimates that the French sport economy experienced a drop of approximately 21% in 2020 in comparison to 2019, which represent a much deeper recession than for the rest of the economy (-8.3% according to INSEE.)

> The launch of a five-year, pan-European project by Global Sports Week Founding Partner adidas, addressing the brand’s Global Purpose pillar of Breaking Barriers for Girls. adidas will work with 15 non-profit sport for good organisations across different regions of Europe across the five years, improving their capacity and capability to serve women and girls in their communities in order to empower 100+ Breaking Barriers Champions and engage with 50,000+ female participants. The project aims to increase girls’ participation in sport by building the capacity of the sport-for-good ecosystem to better serve women and girls, as well as to provide inspiration for girls to become their best selves.

Lucien Boyer, President and Co-Founder of Global Sports Week, said: “At Global Sports Week’s inaugural edition at the Louvre in 2020, the big message was about the need for change. This year, we clearly witnessed the revolution happening across the world of sport, which reflects the fundamental links between sport, business and society.

“This remains the heart of the Global Sports Week concept, which itself has reinvented in a creative and ambitious new format fit for a future, healthier and more socially-conscious world.

“Sport belongs at the heart of this future, and we are clearly seeing how the positive pressure of young people is helping the ecosystem to change and play a bigger role across the key issues in global society. We look forward to welcoming the world back to Global Sports Week in 2022 to continue the journey of positive transformation together.”

[Source: Global Sports Week] The world of sport will gather virtually this week for its annual Global Sports Week, which will take place across six future host cities of the Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Olympic Games.

Paris will again take centre stage, with the Eiffel Tower set to play host to the spectacular main event studio – the production base for a 30-hour livestream that will incorporate broadcasts from hub venues in Tokyo, Beijing and Dakar, and from ‘virtual hubs’ in Milan and Los Angeles.

An opening ceremony will be broadcast from the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday, attended by key figures and special guests, including Yannick Bestaven, skipper of IMOCA MAÎTRE CoQ, fresh from his victory last week in the legendary Vendee Globe solo round-the-world yacht race.

Throughout the week, a significant focus is expected to be placed on questions surrounding the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Holders of 51 Olympic and Paralympic medals will be among more than 200 speakers participating across the week. Other athletes on the programme include football superstars Gerard Pique, Didier Drogba and Mikael Silvestre; tennis champions Justine Henin and Francesca Schiavone; F1 driver Romain Grosjean; NBA All-Star Tony Parker and reigning World Cup ski queen Federica Brignone.

Senior Olympic movement leaders present will include International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet, IOC Athletes Commission Chairperson Kirsty Coventry and top leaders of the Organising Committees of Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, Milan 2026, Dakar 2026 and LA28.

Mayors Anne Hidalgo (Paris), Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles), Soham El Wardini (Dakar), and Giuseppe Sala (Milan), Vice Mayor of Beijing Zhang Jiandong and Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike will each give a message, presenting their vision for sport and the Games in the future of their cities.

Reinvention in action

The theme of this year’s Global Sports Week will be Reinvention in Action, following a year of unprecedented disruption, which has accelerated underlying trends impacting the world of sport.

As in 2020, the voice of the next generation will be represented by a group of Young Sports Makers, under-25s drawn from 26 nations, who will be tasked with challenging leaders and helping to shape discussions in line with their concerns.

Issues on the agenda include the rise of athlete activism and entrepreneurship, the new sport-for-health agenda and the emergence of new digital sports formats and revenue streams. Women’s sport, social justice and the climate emergency will also feature strongly.

NBA among coalition of partners

Global Sports Week comprises three programme streams: the main GSWArena, the partner-led GSWVillage and the GSWPro zone, featuring professional development content.

An immersive GSWMarketpace will additionally house 50 exhibitors.

 In total, more than 50 hours of content will be produced over 100 sessions throughout the week.

The event programme has been co-created together with 42 Global Sports Week partners, which include a number of the world’s leading sports rightsholders. Last week, the NBA became the latest to come on board as an official Proud Supporter.

Lucien Boyer, President and Co-founder of Global Sports Week, said: “The strength of this year’s programme is testament not only to the quality and impact of our inaugural edition at the Louvre. It also reflects a huge built-up energy in the world of sport right now, which is looking for expression.

“At the same time, we believe it is crucial that sport does not simply talk to itself. This year has shown us the extent to which sport is a function of societal and economic influences, while also being fundamental to the health of society itself.

“The mission of Global Sports Week is to bring people together across the boundaries of sport, business and society. We believe the diversity of this year’s line-up will lead to very exciting discussions, new partnerships and tangible outcomes that will shape the future of sport as we enter this new era.”

Global Sports Week Paris to take place at the Eiffel Tower

Landmark Paris venue will host hybrid event from February 1-5 2021

[Source: Global Sports Week] The Eiffel Tower has been announced as the main venue for Global Sports Week in 2021.

The world’s most famous landmark will provide the stage for the Paris event, which is returning after the success of its inaugural edition at the Louvre in February 2020.

The new venue was revealed as part of an event marking 50 days to go to the 2021 edition, which will take place from February 1-5.

Organised under the high patronage of Mr Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, and with the additional patronage of UNESCO, Global Sports Week brings together leaders and change-makers from sport, business and society.

The forum is billed as the ‘rendez-vous of the year’ for the world sports economy, with the 2021 edition taking the theme of “reinvention in action.”

Organisers have embraced the concept by introducing a new, multi-country connected format for 2021. It includes a mix of physical and digital events in Paris and five other future Olympic host cities: Tokyo, Beijing, Milan, Dakar and Los Angeles.

Access for delegates will be mainly online, with speakers and high-profile guests linked live from iconic studio settings.

Paris will remain the event’s epicentre, with the Eiffel Tower venue promising a spectacular backdrop for speakers and digital participants alike.

The main event studio will be set-up in the Salon Gustave Eiffel, suspended 57 metres above ground at the heart of the Eiffel Tower structure.

The venue offers unobstructed views of Paris and its world-famous skyline, with transparent facades providing an inside look at the iconic Eiffel engineering.

A strong partnership with the City of Paris

Use of the space has been facilitated as part of an agreement with the City of Paris, which builds on support provided by the Mayor to Global Sports Week in its first year.

The partnership reflects a shared ambition to promote France’s international attractiveness and the country’s global leadership in sport as it looks forward to hosting the Rugby World Cup 2023 and Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Pierre Rabadan, Paris Deputy Mayor in charge of sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said:  “As the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games approach, Paris is proud to be the capital of sport. We are delighted to have hosted and to continue to host sporting events that resonate worldwide and to help spread sporting values around the world.”

Jean-François Martins, Chairman of the Eiffel Tower Operating Company said: “The Eiffel Tower is a monument that symbolises Paris and France like no other, and yet it also belongs to the world.

“We’re delighted that the Salon Gustave Eiffel will provide the stage for Global Sports Week, which seeks to connect a worldwide audience and be a platform for positive change.”

Lucien Boyer, Co-Founder and President of Global Sports Week, said: “The Eiffel Tower is a landmark venue for a landmark event, and a statement of our global ambition.

“Now, more than ever, multilateral forums such as Global Sports Week are crucial, because multilateral action will be needed to seize the full opportunity of this new era in sport and society.”

Fresh, diverse and premium content

More than 10,000 sports leaders, cultural changemakers, athletes, activists and emerging talents are expected to participate across Global Sports Week, whose programme will feature talks, debates, pitch contests, exclusive screenings, sports demonstrations and behind-the-scenes venue tours.

Alongside the main Arena content channel, the new Global Sports Week digital platform includes access to intelligent networking tools as well as a Village channel offering partner workshops, activations and private professional masterclasses.

Global Sports Week Paris will take place between February 1 and 5 2021. Paid ticket holders will also benefit from on-demand access to Global Sports Week content as well as other exclusive experiences and networking opportunities year-round as part of an annual subscription to the new GSW Club.